


Undone

by GoodJanet



Category: Quantum Leap
Genre: Brain Damage, Brainwashing, Gen, Heavy Angst, Loss of Identity, Memory Alteration, Memory Loss, Sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-24
Updated: 2015-07-24
Packaged: 2018-04-11 01:06:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4415150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoodJanet/pseuds/GoodJanet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sam was never supposed to leap for this long, and it's starting to show.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Undone

**Author's Note:**

> What if Sam was still leaping in 2015?

At nearly eighty years old, Al steps into the imaging chamber and wonders how much longer he’s going to be able to do this. Not because he won’t want to, but because of the toll the demands of the job take on him physically, emotionally, and mentally. He can only imagine the pain Sam is in, at this point. Or what’s left of him.

His heart aches as he calls to Gushie, “Alright, send me in!”

It’s only a few seconds before Al is inside the bedroom of a teenage girl. There’s posters of Vampire Weekend on her walls and a pink iPhone is charging on a nightstand. The room is dark; it must be late.

“Sam?” he calls. “It’s me.”

“Who’s there?” a small voice asks.

Eyes peek out from under a purple comforter. The girl looks scared and confused.

“It’s me. It’s Al. Remember?”

She sits up and her brows furrow. If it wasn’t for the silver streaks in her hair that even the girl’s aura couldn’t hide, Al would almost believe he was inside the wrong house.

“I think I knew someone named Al once. I think he was in my science class last year.”

It’s everything in Al’s power not to cry or yell.

“You’re saying you don’t remember me, kid? At all?”

Sam shakes his head.

“I don’t know you, but I’m not afraid of you. You broke into my house, but I know you’re not going to hurt anyone. How do I know that?”

Al swallows through a lump in his throat and pulls out his handlink. It’s an outdated version, but Al had insisted on keeping it and updating it regularly. It was one of the few constants that Al could provide him.

Tired, Al sits on the bed next to Sam, who neither shies away nor gets closer.

“I’m your friend, Sam. I’m here to help you help these people.”

“My brain feels empty.”

Al sighs.

“What’s the last thing you remember?”

“The last thing I remember is you telling me you’re my friend.”

“Oh, kid.”

“Yeah?”

He looks at Al so earnestly that it’s hard to keep looking at him.

“I’m here to tell you what to do,” Al finally says.

Sam breathes a sigh of relief.

“Thank goodness. I was worried about what I’m supposed to do. What’s the handlink say?”

“Handlink? You remember the handlink?”

“Isn’t that what your cell phone thing is called?”

“I told you so, Gushie!” Al shouts.

“Gushie?” Sam asks.

“He’s another friend of ours.”

“Well, what does it say?”

Al presses the old fashioned keys and watches it light up as Ziggy fed him the information he needed.

“Ziggy says you gotta pass the math test on your own without cheating or else you’ll be expelled from your high school, which will make getting in college really difficult for Charlotte May.”

“If my name is Charlotte, why are you calling me Sam?”

They’ve been having this conversation increasingly more often. And no matter how many times Al tried to explain, the information was lost by the next leap or even in the middle of one. Sam was never supposed to leap for this long, and the effects were making themselves more and more known the longer he was trapped in time.

“Because that’s your real name. Your real name is Sam Beckett. You leap into people’s lives and help change them for the better.”

“Can I leap back when I’m done saving Charlotte?”

“Maybe, Sam,” Al lies. “Maybe.”

Sam nods.

“Okay.”

“Okay, that’s good, kid.”

Al watches as Sam slowly sinks back down onto his pillows. He tries very hard to keep his eyes open for as long as Al is present. When it looks as though he’s gone back to sleep, Al stands to open up the imaging chamber door.

“Al?”

His fingers freeze over the keys.

“Yeah, Sam?”

“Thanks. For everything.”

“For you, kid. I’d do anything.”

Al is grateful that he was able to keep the sobs at bay until the door shut behind him.


End file.
